Post by Trollock on Jan 12, 2018 14:20:13 GMT
I have stated previously that i think we have several casters that can play well in any of our themes, and that each theme offers a unique way to play that caster (sort of at least). I did a write up for Grissel 1 a while back and it was fun, so now ill do one for Grissel 2 as well!
Now there are more than 4 main ways to play most casters, so this article will not be exhaustive, but will contain 4 different ways to play Grissel 2. You can probably find a bunch more if you want!
Band of Heroes
(Grissel 2) Grissel Bloodsong, Marshal of the Kriels [+27]
- Dire Troll Bomber [19]
- Dire Troll Mauler [15]
- Trollkin Runebearer [0(5)]
Fell Caller Hero [0(5)]
Swamp Gobber Chef [1]
Krielstone Bearer & Stone Scribes (max) [9]
- Stone Scribe Elder [3]
Long Riders (max) [20]
Trollkin Champions (min) [10]
Trollkin Fennblades (max) [15]
- Fennblade Officer and Drummer [0(5)]
Trollkin Warders (min) [10]
This list might seem a bit bland, but it focuses on having two very fast blocks that are also resilient to shooting. With Dash you get up the board in a hurry, and the Warders and Deflection makes your Fennblades difficult to one round with shooting. The Long Riders are hard to shoot down on their own. Champions and Mauler bring up the rear to do the heavy lifting. Meanwhile you have the strong ranged presence that is Grissel + Bomber. Just those two can bring down most casters at range, and a heavy that has been softened up at range can easily be dispatched by your fast units even if they do not hit super hard themselves.
Worth noting is that Long Riders become ARM 22 in melee under the feat. That is way harder to shift than one might think and can allow your to deliver your slower heavy hitters.
Power of Dhunia
(Grissel 2) Grissel Bloodsong, Marshal of the Kriels [+27]
- Dire Troll Bomber [19]
- Mountain King [36]
- Storm Troll [9]
- Troll Axer [10]
- Troll Bouncer [9]
- Trollkin Runebearer [0(5)]
Feralgeist [2]
Janissa Stonetide [0(4)]
Troll Whelps [0(4)]
Farrow Razorback Crew [5]
Krielstone Bearer & Stone Scribes (max) [9]
- Stone Scribe Elder [3]
As with all Grissel 2 lists, you start with a Bomber. Then you add what ever Warbeasts you want basically. I went with a MK who is super scary with the feat, and who can contribute at range or in melee. He provides Rage to what ever beast needs it. The Axer makes the MK threaten just far enough to be an issue. Being stuck at 10" melee threat is mopy, but 12" is fine. Not great, but it will allow for him to threaten an entire circular zone for example. My plan then was to be cute and include a Storm troll, who could in theory punch my MK with lightning fists up and clear him off before he activates. In general, he will combine his ranged presence with the rest of the BG to be able to one round a heavy at range. The Bouncer is an excellent target for Discord, especially together with the axer (running further to jam) and the feat (to get too high ARM to kill). I really like the Bouncer with Grissel. In the beginning of MK3 i played her a lot, and then the shield guard was mandatory for the MK. That is where the love started to develop
The "cuteness" with the list is the Razorback. It is actually an incredible piece with Grissel for its point cost. There will "always" be a knocked down target for it to hit, and a boosted POW 14 for 5 points is a superb ranged output. The selection of free solos can be changed a bit, but one unit of whelps is mandatory imo. Then you could go double Shaman or Janissa + Runebearer as you saw fit.
The list has incredible output at range and an insane assassination potential, especially if the enemy can be knocked down, though the Deafen debuff can allow you to cap even knock down immune casters if you can tag them. Ranged lists generally will have problems on scenario, but if you play aggressively with your Bouncer and MK under the feat you can hang in there until you have ground down the opponent usually. Often you get a trivial assassination attempt on turn 3-4 when the opponent can no longer hide his caster though. You will go all in to try it, so it is not necessarily the best idea. Cloud Walls will shut you down, so if that is a common thing, you should tweak some things to get a mist speaker or possibly Lynus and Edrea in there.
Kriel Company
(Grissel 2) Grissel Bloodsong, Marshal of the Kriels [+27]
- Dire Troll Bomber [19]
- Mountain King [36]
- Trollkin Runebearer [0(5)]
Troll Whelps [4]
Krielstone Bearer & Stone Scribes (max) [9]
- Stone Scribe Elder [0(3)]
Swamp Gobbers Bellows Crew [2]
Trollkin War Wagon [16]
Trollkin War Wagon [16]
Simple and brutal. You have a powerful ranged presence, but you will not be hanging back, but rather go straight in to the enemy. With the upcoming change to Unyielding, your WWs will be super hard to kill after they go in. You can murder a LOT of infantry and a MK + Bomber handles a surprising amount of heavies, especially if said heavies have to get through two ARM 23 WWs to get to them. 3 Huge bases means that terrain can become an issue, but since you do a lot of work at range, you are not as limited by a wall you can not stand atop.
The Runebearer could probably be Braylen instead since Grissel wont be casting many spells, and the larger control area is not needed. Gobbers are there to score since you have no good units for that. No idea if this list works on the table, but it contains only very strong pieces so it is probably fine. Seems awesome to jam with ARM 23 WWs on the feat turn and watch the opponent try to do anything without being exposed to a follow up assassination next turn.
Storms of the North
(Grissel 2) Grissel Bloodsong, Marshal of the Kriels [+27]
- Dire Troll Bomber [19]
- Troll Bouncer [9]
- Trollkin Runebearer [0(5)]
Fell Caller Hero [0(5)]
Feralgeist [2]
Valka Curseborn, Chieftain of the North [0(6)]
Krielstone Bearer & Stone Scribes (max) [9]
- Northkin Elder [3]
Northkin Bear Handle & Battle Bears [10]
Northkin Bear Handle & Battle Bears [10]
Northkin Fire Eaters [7]
Northkin Raiders (max) [15]
Hearthgut Hooch Hauler [18]
There are a lot of ways to build SotN with Grissel imo. I still see the Bomber as the foundation of everything and this time i went with a minimal BG. The synergy i am after here is that Grissel knocks something down, and then the HHH + Raiders kill it. Meanwhile Grissel and the Bomber kills another target as well.
It is very possible that the list is too focused on killing heavies. Maybe there should be more FEs and fewer bears, but that is up to taste. A GK + Bomber as a BG would be obscene as well. Maybe you leave the HHH + Raider combo at home then though. Long Riders are great options when sped up to SPD 9 and ARM 22 in melee. LOTS of territory to be explored here for sure!
So, there you have it. Maybe some inspiration for any week end gaming. Grissel 2 has not been talked about a lot lately, and she is still amazing and fun to play imo. Give her a try if you havent!
/T
Now there are more than 4 main ways to play most casters, so this article will not be exhaustive, but will contain 4 different ways to play Grissel 2. You can probably find a bunch more if you want!
Band of Heroes
(Grissel 2) Grissel Bloodsong, Marshal of the Kriels [+27]
- Dire Troll Bomber [19]
- Dire Troll Mauler [15]
- Trollkin Runebearer [0(5)]
Fell Caller Hero [0(5)]
Swamp Gobber Chef [1]
Krielstone Bearer & Stone Scribes (max) [9]
- Stone Scribe Elder [3]
Long Riders (max) [20]
Trollkin Champions (min) [10]
Trollkin Fennblades (max) [15]
- Fennblade Officer and Drummer [0(5)]
Trollkin Warders (min) [10]
This list might seem a bit bland, but it focuses on having two very fast blocks that are also resilient to shooting. With Dash you get up the board in a hurry, and the Warders and Deflection makes your Fennblades difficult to one round with shooting. The Long Riders are hard to shoot down on their own. Champions and Mauler bring up the rear to do the heavy lifting. Meanwhile you have the strong ranged presence that is Grissel + Bomber. Just those two can bring down most casters at range, and a heavy that has been softened up at range can easily be dispatched by your fast units even if they do not hit super hard themselves.
Worth noting is that Long Riders become ARM 22 in melee under the feat. That is way harder to shift than one might think and can allow your to deliver your slower heavy hitters.
Power of Dhunia
(Grissel 2) Grissel Bloodsong, Marshal of the Kriels [+27]
- Dire Troll Bomber [19]
- Mountain King [36]
- Storm Troll [9]
- Troll Axer [10]
- Troll Bouncer [9]
- Trollkin Runebearer [0(5)]
Feralgeist [2]
Janissa Stonetide [0(4)]
Troll Whelps [0(4)]
Farrow Razorback Crew [5]
Krielstone Bearer & Stone Scribes (max) [9]
- Stone Scribe Elder [3]
As with all Grissel 2 lists, you start with a Bomber. Then you add what ever Warbeasts you want basically. I went with a MK who is super scary with the feat, and who can contribute at range or in melee. He provides Rage to what ever beast needs it. The Axer makes the MK threaten just far enough to be an issue. Being stuck at 10" melee threat is mopy, but 12" is fine. Not great, but it will allow for him to threaten an entire circular zone for example. My plan then was to be cute and include a Storm troll, who could in theory punch my MK with lightning fists up and clear him off before he activates. In general, he will combine his ranged presence with the rest of the BG to be able to one round a heavy at range. The Bouncer is an excellent target for Discord, especially together with the axer (running further to jam) and the feat (to get too high ARM to kill). I really like the Bouncer with Grissel. In the beginning of MK3 i played her a lot, and then the shield guard was mandatory for the MK. That is where the love started to develop
The "cuteness" with the list is the Razorback. It is actually an incredible piece with Grissel for its point cost. There will "always" be a knocked down target for it to hit, and a boosted POW 14 for 5 points is a superb ranged output. The selection of free solos can be changed a bit, but one unit of whelps is mandatory imo. Then you could go double Shaman or Janissa + Runebearer as you saw fit.
The list has incredible output at range and an insane assassination potential, especially if the enemy can be knocked down, though the Deafen debuff can allow you to cap even knock down immune casters if you can tag them. Ranged lists generally will have problems on scenario, but if you play aggressively with your Bouncer and MK under the feat you can hang in there until you have ground down the opponent usually. Often you get a trivial assassination attempt on turn 3-4 when the opponent can no longer hide his caster though. You will go all in to try it, so it is not necessarily the best idea. Cloud Walls will shut you down, so if that is a common thing, you should tweak some things to get a mist speaker or possibly Lynus and Edrea in there.
Kriel Company
(Grissel 2) Grissel Bloodsong, Marshal of the Kriels [+27]
- Dire Troll Bomber [19]
- Mountain King [36]
- Trollkin Runebearer [0(5)]
Troll Whelps [4]
Krielstone Bearer & Stone Scribes (max) [9]
- Stone Scribe Elder [0(3)]
Swamp Gobbers Bellows Crew [2]
Trollkin War Wagon [16]
Trollkin War Wagon [16]
Simple and brutal. You have a powerful ranged presence, but you will not be hanging back, but rather go straight in to the enemy. With the upcoming change to Unyielding, your WWs will be super hard to kill after they go in. You can murder a LOT of infantry and a MK + Bomber handles a surprising amount of heavies, especially if said heavies have to get through two ARM 23 WWs to get to them. 3 Huge bases means that terrain can become an issue, but since you do a lot of work at range, you are not as limited by a wall you can not stand atop.
The Runebearer could probably be Braylen instead since Grissel wont be casting many spells, and the larger control area is not needed. Gobbers are there to score since you have no good units for that. No idea if this list works on the table, but it contains only very strong pieces so it is probably fine. Seems awesome to jam with ARM 23 WWs on the feat turn and watch the opponent try to do anything without being exposed to a follow up assassination next turn.
Storms of the North
(Grissel 2) Grissel Bloodsong, Marshal of the Kriels [+27]
- Dire Troll Bomber [19]
- Troll Bouncer [9]
- Trollkin Runebearer [0(5)]
Fell Caller Hero [0(5)]
Feralgeist [2]
Valka Curseborn, Chieftain of the North [0(6)]
Krielstone Bearer & Stone Scribes (max) [9]
- Northkin Elder [3]
Northkin Bear Handle & Battle Bears [10]
Northkin Bear Handle & Battle Bears [10]
Northkin Fire Eaters [7]
Northkin Raiders (max) [15]
Hearthgut Hooch Hauler [18]
There are a lot of ways to build SotN with Grissel imo. I still see the Bomber as the foundation of everything and this time i went with a minimal BG. The synergy i am after here is that Grissel knocks something down, and then the HHH + Raiders kill it. Meanwhile Grissel and the Bomber kills another target as well.
It is very possible that the list is too focused on killing heavies. Maybe there should be more FEs and fewer bears, but that is up to taste. A GK + Bomber as a BG would be obscene as well. Maybe you leave the HHH + Raider combo at home then though. Long Riders are great options when sped up to SPD 9 and ARM 22 in melee. LOTS of territory to be explored here for sure!
So, there you have it. Maybe some inspiration for any week end gaming. Grissel 2 has not been talked about a lot lately, and she is still amazing and fun to play imo. Give her a try if you havent!
/T
